Golden Snowball an Interview
with Peter Chaston

Below is a quick summary of how the Golden Snowball
Race
For the 2004 - 2005 snowfall season played out.

What a Great Contest
This Year

We've been
keeping the stats for the total snowfall for Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo,
Binghamton and Albany for the last 3 years now. Ever since it was decided
to get the Golden Snowball contest rolling again. This year without a
doubt was the most exciting contest in the last 3 years with several lead
changes between Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester. A ton of second and third
place changes. And then of course there is Albany. Below are some of
my daily blogs and dates that I posted throughout the year which pretty much
summarizes the whole season. Click Here for the Whole Seasons Play by Play.

11/8 -
11/9 - Binghamton
actually struck first receiving the most snow. Buffalo was in dead last place.
Albany was even beating them.

12/4 - Way to go Buffalo!!!
Inches their way out of last place to pull ahead of Albany. Binghamton is still
holding off Syracuse and Rochester for first place. How long will it last? I
really do think this year is going to be a super close race right down to the
finish between Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester and even Binghamton with the
Nor'easters maybe in play this year more so than last. Syracuse is already off
over a foot of snow from last year.

12/6 -
Evening update tonight. It looks like Syracuse has taken the lead over from
Binghamton picking up a couple of inches in
the last 24 hours or so. The totals should change most likely by tomorrow
though. A note of interest is that on today's date last year we were all
getting quite a bit of snow also. Like close to a foot of snow
I guess we are still lucking out this year.
Have a Great work week all !

The First Decent
Snowfall of The Season

12/14 -
Nightly Update - I figured with all the new snow today I would do another
update tonight. Syracuse has grabbed another 4.1 inches of snow so far
today to jump back in the lead. Binghamton held it for several hours
though The latest stats were as of
about 5:30 PM form the weather sites which means come tomorrow there will
be more snow to add up. It's still snowing here in DaCuse and hasn't
stopped for several hours now. Not a heavy snowfall but a good and steady
one. The decorations outside are finally starting to shine and look
pretty with the soft layer of snow on the ground and on the roof. Another
thing to look at is the snow totals from last year on this date jumped big
time for a few cities. Almost 15 inches for Syracuse last year to set a
record for the date. Binghamton last year on the date grabbed over 11
inches with all the others getting dumped on also last year. Anyways, as
the song plays on "Let it Snow" and remember Snow Means Slow! Drive
careful all!

12/15 -
Ask and we shall receive . Syracuse
received a total of 7.5 inches of snow yesterday to spring (which is right
around the corner ) into the lead and
distancing themselves from the rest of the pack. Ok, I know it is just
starting and Binghamton is sticking to Syracuse like the snow is sticking
to the ground. Rochester which picked up 2.0 inches will be right in the
hunt for the Golden Snowball Award again this year. Albany was the only
city that didn't get much of anything but a few more promises from the
state legislatures. I got the shoveling done last night and to be honest
I love shoveling at night when it's all peaceful and no one is around.
Normally after a few times of shoveling though I'll be mumbling to myself
enough of this crap with a few censored words thrown in there. But for
now, it's beautiful outside, bright for a change and a fresh crisp air
tops it all off. If only the feeling and excitement of the first real
snowfall would last all winter long, winter would be a breeze
.

The First Cold
Spell

12/20 -
Can You Say Cold It's been below zero
most of the morning so far. A town up north hit -39 degrees with the wind
chill this morning at about 6:am so I suppose we don't have it to bad.
Buffalo is only 5/10ths of an inch from catching Rochester for 3rd place,
Binghamton is over a foot of snow on the year and doing pretty good at
keeping up with Syracuse who is approaching the 2 foot mark and Albany is,
well Albany is looking out for the state legislators to make sure they can
get to work to get something done. Yea, that will happen when pigs learn
to fly or better yet when Albany wins the Golden Snowball Award
Dress warm today the temps will be
rising over night.

Buffalo Gets Over
A Foot of Snow and The Lead

12/27 -
BUFFALO ROCKS!!! Wow, was I surprised today when I saw how much snow Buffalo
received on Christmas Eve Day. 12 inches!!! Yup a foot of new snow to jump
into the lead and make the rest of us look like a bunch of wimps. Syracuse
who??? Rochester picked up several inches which dropped previously second place
Binghamton all the way down to next to last place 4th. Here in most of Syracuse
saw a green Christmas A lot of rain with the
last storm and that was about it.

Jan 2005 Started Slow
But That Didn't Last Long

1/4 -
I hope everyone is off to a good start for the New Year. Still nothing to
report, go figure. Here we are a few days into January and the grass is still
showing. I wonder if it's to late to do my fall grass seeding? One thing that
is definitely getting old though is the dark gloomy days. Where the hell is the
sun??? At least with snow on the ground it is bright outside
On a good note we are gaining a minute each day
of daylight time even though with the clouds
it looks like nighttime most of the time. Enjoy the rest of the week, snow may
be in the forecast soon.

1/9 -
The updates from the last little storm are posted now. Who would of thought
that 9 days into January Albany would still be in the race for the Golden
Snowball Award ??? I sure didn't! They picked
up over 5 inches yesterday, Rochester's snowfall was just under 5 inches to
move a little closer to second place, Syracuse received 3.5 inches, Binghamton
and Buffalo were a little over 2 inches of the white crap. What a contest it's
turning out to be this year . We are into January and the last place city is
less than 10 inches out of the lead.

The First Article
About the Contest Comes Out

1/10 -
This years contest has officially started now. The first article about
this years competition hit the papers this morning here in Syracuse.
Another great piece by the multi award winning journalist Sean Kirst at
the Post Standard. Can it be anything but great if it's about The Golden
Snowball Award. It's probably a Pulitzer Prize winning article and I bet
the person that submits it to the nominating process will be Dennis Brogan
who we all know just loves this contest, NOT.

For some reason I have the feeling that it's not
good PR for a community to brag about how much snow they receive
annually. Most people don't want to live or work in a place where they
have to drive in the white crap, shovel it, deal with the ice buildup on
the roofs, the rust on the cars from the salt and bla, bla, bla. But in
my opinion the city officials are going about it the wrong way. They
should be promoting the great winters we have. Instead of having the
Pyramid co. build build Destiny USA around the mall they should be
building a mountain. Yup a mountain for skiers and snowboarders. Hey,
you have to work with what you have to work with and lets face it,
normally we have lots of snow to work with. So why not??? Here's why
not. By the time the mountain project gets approved, then by the time the
hotels get built (of course everyone knows you have to build hotels
first), then figure the time it will take to build the mountain and ski
resorts, by then global warming will be setting in and we probably won't
be getting any more snow here in Syracuse. California will be getting it
all. Hmmmm, maybe our city officials do know what their doing
. I guess my point is that this contest
is just a fun thing for bragging rights to help pass the winter months
away. Have fun with it. Sean's home on the web is HERE!
Thanks Sean for the great article, it's always appreciated.

William
Cates of the Associated Press Also puts out an article about Golden Snowball.com
and the contest. Thanks Bill.

Buffalo Still Leads -
Binghamton Over Takes Rochester for 3rd Place

1/14/05 PM
- I figured I would
throw up a special evening update because some new stats came out a little while
ago with the snowfall for today included. Binghamton picked up over 3 inches to
go ahead of Rochester for the season total. Syracuse and Buffalo both had over
an inch and the rest just a few tenths of an inch. Ummm, this really is pitiful
when it comes down to us measuring by inches and not feet. It might be time to
break out the golden snowball snow dance ritual pretty soon

1/18
- After all stats were in after yesterdays snowfall
Rochester kicked some butt with almost 5 inches of snow to leap ahead of
Syracuse and move within a couple of inches to top spot for the crappiest
weather of the season. WTG Rochester!!! As for today one word says it all,
cold, Cold, COLD, COLD!!! Ok that's 4 words but I think you get my point. More
of the same until later tomorrow. Brrrrr

Finally a Storm Worthy
of New York 1/22/05 - 1/24/05 and
Rochester Takes the Lead

1/22 -
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for a good part of New York until
Sunday. Check your local news and weather for updates. Up to and over a
foot of snow will be falling in some locations plus it's still going to be
Cold and the snow will be blowing so stay home watch some basketball and
relax. You will have some shoveling out to do tomorrow. As for the
contest, it's been back and forth lately with a battle between Syracuse
and Rochester for 2nd place. Rochester with a little under an inch moved
back into second. With the new storm approaching it will be interesting
to see who snowmobiles into first tomorrow. Will Buffalo be able to hold
the competition off??? I'll try to post a later day or night update if
stats become available. If you find the time, give us some posts in the
forum as to how your making out with the snow and a guess at some of the
totals today and tonight. I'll be going to a snow party where we will be
playing dice and sipping COCKTAILS I mean soda pops

Just
a quick late night update with some new stats that came in at 5:00 PM. Syracuse
so far is showing 4.8 inches of great new snow, Buffalo's new snowfall so far is
6.2 , Rochester's is 3.2 and no report from Binghamton but after talking with
Coaster and Skip in the forums a good guess would be close to 4 - 5 inches
around 5:00 PM. Thanks for the updates guys
I just measure the snow here in a low spot and show an unofficial 10 inches of
new snow in the Syracuse area so far. It's been non stop since just after noon
and right now is a steady light snow falling. The totals should be awesome
tomorrow. Have a great night all and drive careful, it is slick out there.!

1/23 -
One word comes to mind, AWESOME!!! All the new stats are just coming in
and are temporary. Most are just from the 22nd and even then they may be
on the low side. Syracuse set a date record with 11.8 inches showing and
moved into first place for now anyways. Chances are once Buffalo's final
numbers come in they may bounce back, maybe even Rochester. Buffalo set a
record for snowfall on the date with 6.7 inches. That record dates back
to 1910 Albany with a Whopping 6.7 inches
of snowfall reported and Binghamton still isn't giving any totals so I
added 7 inches to their stats for now. That will change along with the
rest of the stats once the over night totals come in later in the day.
The city of Syracuse actually measured over 14 inches of snow but the
official measurement comes from Hancock Airport which received less snow
than the city and where I am at. I measured right around 13 inches in a
low spot not counting the overnight snowfall.

I went out to shovel
the first time last night and it was pretty cold with the wind but really
just so peaceful, not a lot of traffic and no one was out. It was really
nice Then the second time I went out
to shovel the wind had died down completely and it was actually pretty
comfortable outside, how enjoyable The
third fricking time, yes third time I went out to shovel, or should I say
crawled out to shovel because by then my back was shot it was like I never
even shoveled the first 2 times and it was freezing again with the wind
whipping around. It was one of them swirling winds, you know the kind
that no matter which way you throw the snow it's coming back at your face
Hmmmm, wasn't I the one who was quoted
in the paper as saying this was a Dud of a Winter
Did I mention the third time I shoveled
I cleaned the car off and started it up to warm up the car and clean the
windshield. It kind of sucked when I got in bed and just got warm and
then remembered the car was still running ( place idiot smiley face
here). All in fun though and I really do enjoy all the snow. Bring it
on, More, More, Have a Great Day All and look for a later day update.

1/24 -
The stats have been updated from the storm and it looks like Rochester
kicked some major butt to leap to the front of the golden snowball race.
Buffalo's stats look a little funny, a little on the low side so I'll wait
and see if there are any changes for them. So far here is what it comes
out to for storm totals and leftovers if my fuzzy math is right and it's
early morning so there is a good chance it isn't ; )

The total stats are all
up to date as of this morning now. What a difference a day makes!
Buffalo has gone from being in 1st place all the way down to 4th place.
Rochester made out HUGE with this last storm jumping into 1st place with a
3 1/2 inch lead over Da Cuse with an approx amt of 16 inches from the 2005
storm. The totals from the storm below are give or take a little but
still pretty impressive. Hopefully this will be a race to the finish.
Have a Super week all!

2/1 - 2/14 -
Syracuse and Rochester changed leads several times going back and forth
for total snowfall.

It Finally
Happened - First I Remember this Far In

2/17 -
2/19 How many
times so far this year have I said what a great contest it is this year. Well
it just got even better. Finally a tie for first place. Yup Rochester and
Syracuse in a deadlock for first place. This far in the season and this close.
Gotta love it!!! I know I do. It could get even better. Buffalo decided they
want to play again and have been slowly closing the gap on the top two cities.
Even Binghamton has been holding their own and with the snow expected tonight
and tomorrow they might be the big winners for this storm.

Syracuse
ended up breaking the tie and started to pull away from Rochester.

Another Storm

2/28 - 3/1
Bring It On!!! The snow continues to fall everyone. Rochester chipped
away a little on Syracuse's lead by gaining about 2.5 inches more from
this last snowfall. Binghamton is still holding on by a snowball over
Buffalo and I'm still impressed with Albany's totals for this storm.
After doing the math these are the totals I came up with for the last 2
days from this storm and some Lake Effect snow. Looking at the closing
and delays it looks like the north might of gotten a good dumping
overnight. The Fulton and Oswego area. I'm still trying to get some
stats for Utica and Watertown so if there are any official spotters out
there drop me an email. I could use some help.

3/21 - Contrary to what you
may have read or heard on the news the Golden Snowball Contest lives on.
Shocked was pretty much my feelings when I read a couple of articles
saying Syracuse had won the award again this year. I suppose if you
actually believe the snow stops on the first day of Spring then then
believe what you would like to. Wishful thinking
. Are the chances pretty good that
Syracuse may win it again this year? Sure the chances are good but it is
way too soon to call it a wrap. Look for a call sometime in May. Look
for a later day post of an interview with the King, The Man of the golden
snowball contest himself to come.

Buffalo and Rochester
picked up a dusting to increase their stats just a bit. Rochester really
needs to get it going now to have a chance at being host to the golden
snowball trophy for a year. As of today their about 25 inches of the pace
but still doable with some lake effect snow. The race between Binghamton
and Buffalo is still neck and neck. Will Buffalo allow themselves to be
beaten by a southern city??? We shall see. Hey, Have a Great Week All
and look for a later day interview.

3/24 - Way to go
Binghamton! They set a date record that went back to 1965 by picking up
7.3 inches of new snow. Albany even set a date record with 2.7 inches.
Buffalo grabbed a little over an inch and Rochester made a small move on
Syracuse showing 3.1 inches. Syracuse so far is only showing about a half
an inch. The lead is cut down to 22 inches which is doable. Less than 7
inches separates Binghamton and Rochester for 2nd place. Can RocCity be
over taken??? The contest goes on!!!

5/8/05 - For the rest of
March it was a little of hit and miss with not too much to report as far
as snowfall totals went. When April began we saw a lot of nice
spring days in a row and it was probably one of our nicest Aprils in
awhile as far as sunshine was concerned. We also saw one of the
rainiest April months on record I believe. I think we were something
like a couple inches over the normal but don't quote me on that. I
think over 5 inches of rain fell in a fast amt of time. I do know
there was a lot of flooding in NY and PA. So it's that time to say;

Congratulations Syracuse

The Great New York
State Golden Snowball Contest For The 2004 - 2005
Is Officially Over!

As of today Syracuse has a
lead that will not be touched unless something freaky happens.
Remember we are in New York where freaky weather is the norm. I
don't see that happening though and after speaking with Mark Weiner of the
Post Standard I think we both agree it's a WRAP.